issue 5 updates

wow, we've been really super-lazy with updating this thing.

there's been a lot of stuff going on in the world of DIY PUNK ZINE...we finally bought the printer, and paper, and ink, and long-reach stapler and staples and everything else necessary to print a US B magazine. So it's now finally available in print, for all those not completely content just looking at it online. and let me tell you, the print version is way awesomer than the online version. i mean, it's like all officially a "real" zine now...you can hold it in your hand and flip through it and circle and highlight things. we are, needless to say, very proud of this giant leap for the zine. this giant leap which set us back five-hundred fucking dollars. but despite the financial setback and obvious lack of money for the future, we're glad to have finally taken this step.

also, we've gained a fourth member to the DIY PUNK zine family... a dude named Johnny Blitz, who has actually been writing for us for a very long time under a different name. i really don't know why he hadn't become part of the zine crew much earlier, probably because of the geographical inconvenience...but you know what, screw geographical inconveniences, this is the 21st century and there is a little thing called technology and the internet in our favor. so sure, he won't be able to physically put it together, but he can still write everything he needs to and send it on over to us. what a great time it is to live in, i tell you.

...and as if that was not enough, we also got ourselves our very own PR person, a dude named Zeke from our town. so yes, things are looking WAY up for the DIY PUNK ZINE.



i don't know how reliable we will be in future issues for updating this site, so if you really need to know how the progress of the zine is going, you can always just contact us directly.

email: diyctpunk@hotmail.com
AIM: diyctpunk [or] michellethreat [or] missrileychaos

"guilty pleasures"

The Wednesday Night Heroes
Guilty Pleasures


Listening to The Wednesday Night Heroes’ latest album, Guilty Pleasures, made me long for them to come back to Connecticut as soon as possible and play another show. Last time they were here I was stuck in Vermont, much to my disappointment – but quite honestly, I didn’t know what I was missing. I had heard one song of theirs on a comp a year or two back so I knew they were a kick-ass band, but I didn’t really know any songs other than that one so I wasn’t too broken up over it. But now, after hearing Guilty Pleasures, I know exactly what I was missing back when they played the Webster in Hartford, and I hope they liked it here because I am now a huge Wednesday Night Heroes fan. And I’d imagine anyone who likes punk would feel the same way after just one go-around of the album.

This is the kind of punk that everyone can appreciate. It’s fast-paced, aggressive, catchy (but not pop, there is a difference which listening to one song of this band’s would clearly illustrate for you), with amazing songs that you can not help singing along with. On the punk spectrum there are usually two extremes with “punk” [the general, original, unadulterated form of punk, that is] in the middle. There’s the punks who likes punk, metal, and some oldschool rap on one side; on the other there are the kids who like punk, psychobilly and rockabilly. Well, the kids who like punk and metal will appreciate this band [a friend of mine who fits this description will attest to that], the kids who like punk and psychobilly will like this band [I myself fit this category, so there’s your proof for that statement], and the kids who like all forms of punk will obviously like this band.

I’m trying to think of a good way to describe Guilty Pleasures without sounding like I’m some kind of advertiser trying desperately to convince the kids of the punk movement that it is equivalent to the second coming of Christ, but really, I’m at a loss for words. Usually there is at least one song on an album that I just don’t like, or that I don’t like as much as the rest of the songs. When my favorite band was the Casualties I couldn’t stand “No Turning Back” and when my favorite band was Social Distortion I would always skip past “Sometimes I Do”. But on Guilty Pleasures there is not one song that I would even consider skipping past. Not a one.

I would say that the standout songs on this album would have to be “Uncivilized Bastard” and “Move to Press”, but honestly I love all of the songs equally. Those two were just instant favorites of mine the first time I heard the album, and ever since I have been shoving them down my friends’ throats, hoping to create a few more WNH fans. “Uncivilized Bastards” has quite possibly one of the best choruses on the album – just singing along feels like giving society a slap in the face. And “Move to Press” has one of the catchier choruses on the album that you can not help singing along with. It’s irresistible.

The energy in this album, if it could somehow be bottled and distributed in pill form, would be one hundred times more potent than speed. The music is amazing: the lyrics, vocals, backing vocals, drums, guitar, bass…I can definitely see why the Wednesday Night Heroes are gaining popularity. They’re fucking amazing, that’s why. This is the kind of punk that makes you want to go, drag out your bass or guitar or drumsticks, and then just play until your fingers and throat bleed. Or at least, that’s what happened when I started listening to it.

I would say that fans of any and all forms of punk would appreciate the Wednesday Night Heroes, but if I had to be more specific I would say that anyone into bands like the Unseen (before they went all post-hardcore on us), Dropkick Murphy’s, the Casualties…damn, any band along those lines…would want to check out WNH and Guilty Pleasures. It’s more hardcore and fast and in-your-face than a band like, say, Against Me! or Bad Religion or Operation Ivy, but still something that I think nearly everyone could enjoy. Give the new CD a listen and I swear you’ll become a WNH fan too.

interviews

holy hell we just got an interview with GBH

this is amazing...GBH is my sister's (Michelle) favorite band of all time. and we are interviewing them tomorrow. fucking GBH. wow. okay, i'm good now!

new shit

okay, so i realize that we've been posting all the CDs/etc we've been receiving to review and not posting any actual reviews, but that will all change soon. we're getting to work and reviewing stuff like mad. i'm kinda pissed because i seem to have lost my "the anthems" and "false alarm" demo and cd, but i'm sure i'll find it soon. we're kind of in the process of moving so i'm hoping not too much zine shit will get lost along the way, but you never know. i'm sure we'll find it all eventually sooner or later. the anthems are really awesome though so i hope i find that one soon...i haven't actually listened to false alarm's cd yet.

anyways, here's what we found at the po box today:
the flash attacks - revenge of the fruit flies (7 inch)
and three releases from boot to head records:
the scurvies - nightprowler (cd)
voice of the mysterons - they have pulled down deep heaven on their heads... (cd)
the filthy 42s - positively south jersey (cd)

we're really excited about getting/reviewing all of these...i mean, the 7inch was red colored vinyl, so first off, you just know it's gonna be awesome, and then we get this boot to head records pack which we didn't even expect...so, yeah, things are looking good for the zine. as far as having enough material to review goes.

check for issue #5 in late november (maybe not the 17th as planned...i'm hoping, but michelle thinks that's not enough time to get our shit together, plus we're moving, so who knows?)

interview added

we also got an interview with the awesome band:
$wingin' Utter$

...which won't be published til issue #8 or #9 from the looks of things

[holy shit! SWINGIN UTTERS!!!!]

new cd update

we received another cd for review today
it looks like it'll be good

Jinx & the Back Alley Cats
"Soundtrack For a Seizure"

november 17th ISSUE #5 out

received today

today we received the following:
TAIL - 7inch
THE WEDNESDAY NIGHT HEROES - CD

look for their reviews in upcoming issues of the zine
(probably in either 8 or 9)

new interviews as well with:
SSCP
The Oi! Boys

new interviews

we also have interviews with the following bands:
Oi Boys!
The Flash Attacks
Youth Brigade
The Uglies
Fourth Corpse

bands in italics will be live interviews
bands in bold (Youth Brigade) is just fucking exciting
all the bands are good, we promise

work in progress

we got 2 interviews done today:
dropkick murphys (matt kelly)
sham 69 (dave parsons)

and we got 1 cd for review today:
"sad day we left the croft" honcho recordings comp

and i drew another shitty comic today at work so be expecting one of those in issue #5 as well

upcoming interviews

Sex Presleys
JuiceheaD
Brain Failure
Murphy's Law
Six and Violence
9:18
Constant Fear
The Creepshow
Dropkick Murphys
Sham 69
The Last Resort
Trashed Idols
Lower Class Brats
...and more TBA

the bands in italics have already been interviewed
the rest have agreed to interviews and will be getting back to us shortly
all interviews will be featured in upcoming issues on the zine

look out for issue #5 november 17th, 2007

ISSUE #5 cd reviews

in ISSUE #5 we will be reviewing the following music:

"United We Standardize" - H.C.A.
"God Save the King" - Sex Presleys
"Lambination 2" - Deadlamb Records comp
"The Declaration" - Haunted Life
"Middle Ground 3" - Punk Shit Records comp
"...Ruin Your $cene" - Angleworm
"Filthy Little Beast" - Crapulous Gee Gaw
...and one more TBA

look for it november 17th, 2007

"...and we travel on"

Home to These Explosions
…And We Travel On

Home to These Explosions claims to be a mix of indie, hardcore and pop punk. Well, after listening to their new album released by New York DIY label Raise Your Fist! Records, I have this to say: I can see the indie, and definitely the pop punk, but as for the hardcore aspect of the band? Give me a break, buddy, I’m just not buying that.

At times the band can have a heavy sound with some pretty interesting guitar riffs, but then it seems to lose all of that power as soon as the first verse starts and the vocals kick in. This CD won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but to those in search of a new underground pop punk band to listen to, I suggest to you these guys. Think an angrier, heavier, more musically advanced version of all your Good Charlotte’s out there, and there you go: Home to These Explosions awaits you.

“From the Board Room to the Gallows” is a song that typifies their sound. The lyrics are pretty awesome and (in the hands of the right band) have the potential to be great. Oh, they’re okay in the song as they are, but if you’re like me and prefer less shaky vocals and a thrashier, hardcore sound, then you’d think the same way. Lyrically the songs have definite visible punk influences – angry, pessimistic social-commentary-type lyrics that say what they’re there to say. If paired with different vocals I think that about three-quarters of the songs on the album would be a lot better, but hey, you can’t help your voice so I’m not counting it as a strike against them. These guys have real talent that shows in their writing – you can always feel the passion there behind their words. Which in punk is a usually a good thing. Sometimes that passion crosses over into emo territory (“I’ve bled in my eyelids” and “shed a red tear” for example) which is concerning if you don’t like emo (a genre which I think would best benefit society by spontaneously combusting), but hey, make your own opinions.

“There’s No Hope In Being Hopeless” and “…And We Travel On” both deal with the punk scene, underground bands, and basement shows – some of my absolute favorite things. Honestly, this is not usually the kind of music I listen to or prefer to listen to, but of the tracks on the album I find them the most bearable and I actually found myself enjoying them from time to time. It could have something to do more with the subject matter than the actual song itself, but then again, who knows?

In the end, Home to These Explosions has a lot of heart and some skill, but if you’re looking for band that’s street or hardcore or anything other than the indie/punk band that they are, then this probably won’t be the band for you.

"shred!"

TFA

Shred!

TFA finally came out with their EP, SHRED! Even though it only has six songs, it’s really awesome and gives you an idea of what they are like. The first song, Hit the Ground, is loud and fast, and basically a great song.

Their music is pretty impressive, especially when you realize that there are only 3 guys making it. The second song, Never Last, is my personal favorite on the EP. It reminds me a lot of minor threat (because of the vocals and pace changes…). A lot of their stuff reminds me of minor threat, actually.

Anyways, the third song, Time to Party, is awesome. There’s not really much to write about it, actually, the name kind of explains itself.

The fourth song, Shred!, is the longest on the EP, weighing in at 1 minute, 52 seconds. It’s (obviously) the one that the EP is named after, and maybe that’s because it’s an awesome song. I can’t really think of anything the song reminds me of, other than TFA. Its fast, catchy, and overall, its just good music. That’s what I think of TFA.

The fifth song, Skate, is the shortest one, (31 seconds), and I think the chorus sums up this song: “All I wanna do is skate!”

The last song, Myspace Whore, is a great way to end the CD, because it’s a great song. This one most of all reminds me of minor threat, because of the pace change in it. Enough about Minor Threat though, this is TFA. They are awesome, so it’s no surprise that their EP is awesome. If you like good music, check out TFA. You won’t be disappointed.

"stupyd cow demo"

Stupyd Cow

Stupyd Cow Demo

Another pop punk band in the same issue of DIY PUNK? you ask. Yes, I say. Another pop punk band. Why? you ask. Because they're fucking good, that's why, I say. Stupyd Cow is pop punk out of Maryland, influenced by bands including (but not limited to) Social Distortion, the Ramones, Pennywise, The Suicide Machines, Rancid, and Anti-Flag. An okay list, as far as influences go, I would have to say.

They sound more new-age pop than oldschool/Ramones/'77 style (whatever you refer to it as) punk, but that doesn't mean they suck. Quite the contrary, I actually really enjoyed the demo. At only four songs long, it's a pretty short CD - one I found myself listening to over and over again. All of the songs were good, not everybody's taste I'm sure, but probably a good majority of you kids would like this band if given the chance to hear them.

I actually believe that this band would be best to see perform live over listening to the CD. Of course, in most cases that is the better of the two options because seriously, who wouldn't want to go to a show over sitting in their room listening to a CD? Not many people, that's who. Either way, this is a high-energy punk band which I'm sure plays a good set and would be fun to mosh around to before the headlining band.

Every song on the album was good and I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing, although I must admit that the last two songs were by far my favorites. Some days you just get into one of those moods where pop-punk ballads are all you wanna hear (well, that may not be the case, but let's just pretend, shall we?), and on those days I would definitely throw in my Stupyd Cow demo and, well, fulfill all of my pop-punk ballad needs. "What It Means" is an awesome song, but honestly all that I have in my head right now is "Canadian Song" so I'll just skip over to that.

If I were a Canadian (dude) I might be really pissed at this band, if I took offense to everything I heard. This song is hilarious and makes out this random Canadian guy to be gay, then blames it all on his Canadian-ness. Like being a Canadian is really an excuse for being gay! Hah! It's just a really funny song that's catchy and good and I can't stop listening to it. The best verse to sing along to comes near the end where they challenge you to sing along with them: "Well this is a Canadian song / And all you fucking Yankee bastards better sing along!". I mean, with writing like this, what's not to like?

Stupyd Cow is a cool band that doesn't seem to take themselves, or anything else, too seriously. Which is good considering they're on the poppier side of the punk rock spectrum and therefore they aren't expected or required to sing about anything more than funny, random, whatever-they-feel-like type songs. To me they sound like a mix of The God Awfuls (another pop-punk band that rocks) and Social Distortion. You won't want to listen to them when you're looking for something hardcore or aggressive because this won't cut it, but if you're looking for something to listen to that's poppy and fun then this would be it.

"the nights i can't remember i can't forget"

The Knockdown

The Nights I Can't Remember I Can't Forget

After listening to The Knockdown's album, "The Nights I Can't Remember I Can't Forget", I can actually say that I am speechless. For once in my life there are no words coming to my brain or out of my mouth. And no, in this case, that may not be such a good thing.

Now don't get me wrong -- I'm not saying that they suck, because in all honesty they don't. Let's just say they're not the typical band you'd find in any given punk's record player - they're more of a new-age/post-hardcore/emo-type band that I feel only about 3% of the kids reading this will really appreciate, if that. For what they do they are pretty good at, but if you aren't a fan of that type of music (which I admit that I am not) then I am pretty sure that you will not find this band or CD very enjoyable.

At best I found the songs tolerable, and even that got old after a while. This could very well have something to do with my deep-seeded hatred of all things remotely emo, or because before putting on the CD I had high hopes and expectations that this just never lived up to. With a name like The Knockdown and a CD title involving drunken endeavors, I had hopes that they would have been something great - straight up punk, or folk punk, or hardcore. And after reading the lyrics to the first song, "Squirrelaholic", there was still hope - after all, it looks like it could have been written by Anti-Flag or some other political pop punk band with all of the big words and "holler back now"s and talk of useless wars going on. But alas, it was not meant to be - no matter how much you rationalize or tell yourself that they'll be good and that they'll be hardcore, as soon as the song starts you know that there is no hope. Nothing in the known world will be able to save you from the emo whinefest that you have just willingly subjected yourself to.

Three of the five songs on the album sound like any other pop-emo band you've ever heard before, with slightly depressing lyrics, the emo whine, indecipherable metaphors, everything. Take this line for example and tell me it's not emo/teen angsty: "Well I'm sure that a savior's born every fucking day / But they learn not to care before anything is saved". Ouch.

The only songs that I found tolerable were "Squirrelaholic" (the first track on the album) and the hidden bonus track. "Squirrelaholic" is the least emo and most pop, and I could definitely see it being on MTV or MTV2 or any other station like that with all the pop-emo they play nowadays. The "whoas", "heys", everything in the song comes together to form a junior highschool-esque ballad about bastard sons and stolen lives. Without a doubt this was the catchiest song on the album, and one of the best in my mind. The other song, "Basements and Houses", is probably their best song. I actually really liked it, so much so that if I were to make a comp with songs I liked on it, this one very well might be one of them. In a lot of ways it reminds me of a Rancid song...the lyrics are along the same lines of Rancid's "Radio", and at the end they have the whole clap-while-singing with no backing instruments thing going on that Rancid also seems to enjoy doing. The vocals are not whiny and are actually pretty okay, they especially impressed me with their harmonizing in the chorus "This is all you wanted / What are you waiting for? / Now is the time to sing along". It's a pretty solid song, and if I was in this band it would be the one I wanted people to remember when they thought of us. (Of course, I'm not in this band so that really was a pointless thing to say).

Basically this band is emo, emo, emo (or indie, indie, indie...whatever you prefer calling it) with some slightly good tendencies picked up from better bands. But just as soon as you start to give in and give them credit for something tolerable, they'll pull out a good charlotte/fall out boy-type song that makes you regret your previous thoughts of them. This band is not for everyone and certainly not for me, but I will admit that musically they are good at what they do and if you like emo/post-hardcore/whatever this band claims to be, then you might want to give them a listen.

updates

issue #4 will be out soon soon soon, we promise. in new news, we've got some sick interviews scheduled for issue #5 (that's right kids, we're talking six and violence, murphy's law, the creepshow, and more). keep an eye out for that, it should be the best issue so far...

we're trying to get a printing press to hook us up with a contract/deal-type thing, so this will probably end up looking like the real deal...you know, newspaper-type magazine... if we can't get them to agree we're gonna need some help from our readers (you know who you are) as to ideas of how we can get this motherfucker printed... if you've got any ideas for us please don't hesitate to shout em out to us...you can do that via email.

diyctpunk@hotmail.com

"Buck Wild"

A Fistful of Dynamite

Buck Wild

I didn’t know how to feel at first when I popped this CD in for review. Being the pessimist I am, I expected this to be some sort of post-hardcore emo band which I would most definitely hate. I was planning on writing a horrible review…emo, after all, has no place in punk rock or this magazine. But much to my delight, A Fistful of Dynamite is no post-hardcore emo band. They are folk punk, something far from the emo whines I expected to hear. And for that I am very grateful.

The first song was alright but nothing that really stood out to me in particular. But as soon as I heard the second track, “We’re Talking About People, Right?”, I knew I was going to have to listen to it again. And so I did – as soon as it had finished I instantly replayed it, picking up everything I could from the song that I didn’t already catch on my previous listening. I don’t even know how to really describe the greatness of this song…nothing I say will do it justice. It’s a song that makes me nostalgic although of what I’m not sure…it reminds me of the Swingin’ Utters but I have no clue why, and I can tell that the lyrics are deep and meaningful but I don’t know what they’re trying to say. A Fistful of Dynamite is acoustic folk rock with a definite punk rock energy and sound. The vocals at times seem strained but when the chorus comes with the background singers chanting along with lead vocals, it picks up momentum.

This isn’t your typical folk punk band, although if you like folk punk you most likely will also like A Fistful of Dynamite. Think Flogging Molly meets Against Me! meets Swingin’ Utters with the lyrical styling of Bad Religion and Operation Ivy. That’s the best way I could describe it in terms of major comparable bands. At this point I would like to discuss with you what I believe really makes the band unique. Now, any band could play folk punk more or less (assuming they have at least some background in the music and musical talent), but A Fistful of Dynamite, as I have already mentioned, is not just any folk punk band. There is a certain punk energy fueling the songs, a certain unpolished quality to the music that you just can’t resist. The lead vocals are in parts shaky and uncertain, but when the pace picks up so do they and the song explodes with the gruff punk attitude we all love. Harmonica, accordion and acoustic guitar add the folk to this punk soundtrack, and when mixed with the killer lyrics (which cover topics from the undead to suicide and beyond), they explode through the speakers of your sound system.

There is only one real problem I find with this CD, and that is the absence of energy in some of the tracks. The energy is almost there but doesn’t quite make it…you can almost feel the vigor built up in the songs, waiting to burst out and be set free, but when the time comes it just never happens. Almost, almost, almost…and then nothing. In a way it’s almost disappointing to see what the songs could have been if given a little something to boost them up to the next level (a bit of speed, perhaps), but then again, as they are the songs are still very enjoyable and you forget that they could have been something more.

“Serenity Now”, “We’re Talking About People, Right?”, and “The Johnson 12” are the standout songs on this album, without a doubt. All have unforgettable choruses, captivating lyrics and an overall uncompromising sound. “The Johnson 12” is the last song on the album, and fittingly so, as it enlightens the listener that all good things come to an end only because you’re letting them. It’s a song with depressing lyrics and an uplifting message – an odd combination that seems to work in this case. “Serenity Now” sings about raising the dead, a topic many fans of theirs are sure to enjoy. And “We’re Talking About People, Right?” is just an amazing, haunting song with clever lyrics and an impressive chorus that forces you to press the repeat button of your CD player long after the first time you’ve heard it.

A Fistful of Dynamite was a pleasant surprise to the pessimist inside of me whispering that this was nothing more than a crappy emo band masquerading as something better than it actually was. “Buck Wild” was like a hardcore acoustic slap in the face, in the best way possible. If you’re a fan of folk punk, or just punk in general, then I would suggest giving them a listen. If you’re anything like me (which I have to assume you are), then you’ll love this CD as much as I did. And that’s saying a lot.

"stay home"

The Bricktops

Stay Home

As soon as you hear the first verse of the first song on this album you realize this: that The Bricktops are pop punk. Real pop punk, not the fake pop rock that they call pop punk to confuse the MTV-watching junior highschoolers of the world. Pop punk like the Ramones. These guys just might be the Ramones of the next generation. Except for less popular and with more street cred, that is.

First song "Taryn is a Lesbian" is damn catchy. It's a song I wouldn't be ashamed to blast out on my car stereo...it's pop, but it's fuckin' hardcore pop. And it's funny too, on top of that - I mean, the whole concept of this guy going after a lesbian but knowing that he'll never get her because she doesn't (as they put it) "like the cock" - it's just funny, okay?

All of their songs sound like they stem directly from the Ramones, and if you like the Ramones as much as I do then you won't mind that at all. But I could see how it could get slightly annoying after a while...I mean, as great as the Ramones are, sometimes you have to switch it up a little. And when all of the songs sound so similar that you figure they could very well be continuations of each other and maybe the whole CD is really just one long song instead of fourteen short ones, well, that could get to be a little too much. I myself don't mind, Ramones and heavily-Ramones-influenced bands are one of my weaknesses, but that's just me.

The song "42" sounds like The Bricktops listened to "The KKK Took My Baby Away" and just decided to change the words but keep the rest of the music, right down to the very last note. First time I listened to it with my sister we both broke out into "The KKK Took My Baby Away" at the chorus, without knowing beforehand that the other was about to do it. So apparently it's not just me who found the similarity between the songs.

This band really has everything you could ask for in an awesome punk band. They've got the three-chord sound down to a science, the vocals are spot on for a poppier punk band (like they are), they have clever, catchy songs that are bound to get stuck in your head for hours, and they have a teenage mindset and sense of humor that all of their fans can appreciate.

If I was being forced at gunpoint to decide, I guess I would have to say the best songs on the album are "Perverted Justice", "Bricktop Bop", "42", "Taryn is a Lesbian", and "The Happy Song". But that's only if there was a hostage situation and I was faced with my own impending death if I didn't choose their best songs - otherwise I wouldn't go through the hassle of picking and choosing. Because honestly, I love all fourteen songs on this album. And that's saying a lot, seeing as how on most albums there's at least one song I don't really like. The Bricktops are just that good.

I would highly recommend checking out The Bricktops and their new CD "Stay Home" to anyone who likes good ol' punk rock the way it was in the beginning. If you like the Ramones (and honestly, who doesn't like them?), then you'll like The Bricktops. This is pop punk the way it's supposed to be - three-chord catchy punk that you're proud to admit rocking out to. So yeah, I like pop punk. I never thought I'd see the day when I'd admit that openly, but it's true, I do. And if you listen to this band, I'm sure you will too.

"allegiance"

Lost in Greenpoint

Allegiance

first off, this review is going to be completely biased...we here at diy punk zine love this band probably more than anyone who will be reading this review (except for the band, maybe). so forgive us in advance for all of the gushing over this album that we are about to do.

suburbian kids are dead is the first song on the cd, and the first song of the band's to be released by 80 grit records. suburbian is not actually a word...i'm pretty sure by this they meant suburban...but hey, who cares? not me. it begins with the announcement that hitler is dead. random but true bit of trivia for you there. hopefully you already knew that though. wow. i love that song. they played this during their show in connecticut, and while at the time we didn't know it, we've liked it ever since first hearing it. and what do you know, its the first on the cd. lucky us. the lyrics are awesome, the singing is awesome, everything about it is basically just awesome. just from listening to this one song i would already suggest to all my friends and acquaintances to go out and buy this cd. it's that good.

second song, awesome chorus (and title as well, since it's the same thing): keep rednecks off skateboards. i don't really know why you'd write a song about this, but hey, it works. and it's pretty amazing. so whatever...keep rednecks off skateboards i say as well.

at this point i would like to say that i love this band, in case you forgot. and, that musically, they are better than you.... i'm not looking for enemies here, i'm just stating the truth.

on to a more political LIG song, "letters from an iraqi citizen" is depressing but a pretty accurate depiction of the shit our country has put the whole middle east through. one of the saddest songs i've heard in a long time (other than "easy way out", but we're not gonna get into an adicts review here, we'll leave that to the big zines), but it's still an amazing song. and no, it's not emo, in case you were wondering.

Confederate: "punk rock with all this hey, hey shit...hay is for fuckin' horses" sums up this song. one of the best on the cd, by far. first, zach nails the intro with a crazy seven second yankee doodle bit, and then...i mean, who impersonates the people they are trying to make fun of in a song? LIG does, and they are awesome. i had to actually pause the song for about fifteen seconds just so i could laugh. it was that entertaining. i really hope that they play this song live at every show they do from now on. sure, it would take some major cojones, but i'm pretty sure they're capable of pulling it off. the song, i mean.

the drumming on "let it go" is impressive...not like any of the other instruments aren't impressive, because they definitely are (all three of these guys are amazing at the instruments they play), but the drumming in this song especially proves that point for james. and of course, what's more awesome than ending a song with a giant burp? nothing we can think of.

Horseshoes & Hand Grenades: a song we were lucky enough to see performed live way before this cd was released. the live performance was awesome (because they were there and not just coming out of the earbuds shoved into my brain like they usually are) if not a little unrehearsed. the "whoas" in the live performance got shot to hell, but in the cd they're all there and done at the right times. unlike when they forgot the timing during their CT show. which was awesome, by the way.

A Place To Go might just be my favorite song in the entire history of the world. no lie. what do you think it's about? if you guessed going to a show, then, well, you're right. so you could say "i was right!" and you wouldn't be wrong (although we don't recommend you saying this out loud to yourself in crowded places such as the library, if that's where you hang out). basically it sums up everything awesome about the world, if going to punk shows is your idea of what the world actually is. and by the way, josh is an awesome bassist, as proven in the intro of this song. and just when i thought there was no possible way for the song to get any better at all, it gets better. what is that? AMAZING!

Lost in Greenpoint has gotten even more talented since Backyard Scandal, somehow (because who would've thought you could get better than that?) zach, james and josh are extremely talented musicians with a lot to say and they surely said it on this cd. if i didn't already have this cd, i would go out and buy it again. and again. and again. hell, i'd even travel all the way to pennsylvania for a copy, and i'm completely serious. it's totally worth every penny of the 925 pennies that make up the price of it on interpunk (plus the 300 pennies in shipping it takes to get to your place). if you like punk rock, or just good music in general (we're assuming you like punk since you are reading a punk zine), then this cd is one you can't miss. so don't miss it.

"keep it at that"

Up For Nothing

Keep It At That

my first impressions of this cd: wow, it's very pop...and surprisingly okay. i mean, in general i can't stand pop-punk acts (think good charlotte, blink 182, in that vein) but then again, this isn't that type of pop. it's upbeat, fast-paced, in your face punk...nothing wrong with that. this is more for the people who enjoy rancid (especially "indestructible" version rancid), nofx, bouncing souls, pennywise, and bands similar to those. some songs are more bubblegum pop than others, some are more hardcore-sounding (although in no way am i calling this band hardcore...to label them with that particular adjective would be an insult to both the band and the genre).

the first track, "shoot down the moon", sounds somewhat like a pop-punk ballad. very catchy, with a memorable chorus of "whoa-oh-oh-oh" that i found myself singing along with halfway through. and of course it has to end, in typical punk fashion, with a slew of "heys" that i'm sure even the ramones would have been proud of.

in fact, many of the songs on this cd are full of "whoas" and "heys" and the like (excluding "oi"...the band isn't an oi band though, so that was never expected of them). and most were singalong punk songs that i found myself yelping to without even knowing half the words. the second and third times around listening i was able to sing my heart out along with the band, and that's precisely what i did.

the vocals in up for nothing are (how can i put this nicely?) probably better-suited for an emo/screamo band than this pop-punk one. the lead vocals are whinier than most punk bands generally accept as okay, but hey, you can't really help the voice you're born with. and it's not like the guy can't sing...he's actually pretty good at doing that. backing vocals are pretty solid too...the "heys" chanted during choruses are like every "hey" you've heard before, from the ramones to rancid. of course, "heys" are pretty easy to cover...there's not that much expertise involved. the bass lines are pretty catchy and in some parts pretty impressive...i wouldn't have expected that much talent on bass (no offense to the band, but most punk acts i hear don't place much emphasis on hard bass lines). the bassist was by no means as talented as matt freeman, but then again, who is? nobody, that's who. the drumming was loud, fast, and solid as well...the way punk drums are supposed to be played.

the cd was a real breath of fresh air for me...it gave me a much-needed break from all the hardcore demos sent in for review to the zine. there's only so much hardcore one can take before slowly slipping into insanity, and i'm afraid i was almost at that point. but this cd was something completely different - poppy and upbeat. listening to them gives you a feel-good sense...it's the type of music you pogo your ass off to before the main act at a punk show. that's the best way i can describe it. you may not know the words the singer is singing at you, and you may not know where the song is going next, but it doesn't matter. it's enough to get you up on your feet, moving, pogoing and moshing, and just having a good time. and really, what more could you want from a cd?

cd reviews

we've got a ton of cds to review...so many i fact that i've misplaced some of em. seriously, we have probably twenty or thirty we need to write about. and we promise we will...and the reviews will be in upcoming issues of the zine.

so instead of writing the reviews in the order we recieved them (which would have been the nice thing of us to do), instead i just took a handful, spread em out on the desktop in front of me, and decided that the following cds will be reviewed in issue 4:

keep it at that / up for nothing
allegiance / lost in greenpoint
stay home / the bricktops
stupyd cow demo / stupyd cow
the nights i can't remember i can't forget / the knockdown (RYF records)
...and we travel on / home to these explosions (RYF records)
buck wild / a fistful of dynamite (RYF records)
shred! / TFA

...so we've got some work on our hands. i guess these reviews won't be as in-depth as the old ones were...since that would make this issue turn out to be like ninety pages at the rate i write reviews.

our first post

okay, here's to our first time posting. we're gonna try and put the zine together more efficiently...hopefully get two or three more issues out by the end of the year.

let's see...issue #4 should be out soon. i know we've been saying that for like two months but we're serious now. just putting it all together now. we promise.

so, it turned out that to print the last issue it cost us $3 for one copy... that didn't work out too well. only ended up making one copy actually. damn library, with their expensive copy machine. so basically, if you want a free copy, you might be out of luck... we'll still make prints, maybe not at the library though. kinko's is always an option. then we'll send em out. or hand em out, depending if you live in connecticut or not.

the end.

Enter your search terms Submit search form